


The Path to Paradise Begins in Hell

by just_another_tinker



Series: Operation Brimstone [2]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie) Spoilers, M/M, Major Character Injury, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-02
Updated: 2015-07-21
Packaged: 2018-04-02 11:53:11
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 19,789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4059001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/just_another_tinker/pseuds/just_another_tinker
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Avengers try to pick up the pieces in the aftermath of their latest mission. Unbeknownst to them, new villains will arise to meet them with one goal: to finish what they started and end the Avengers.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Note: This is a sequel to Laying Down on the Wire. So it probably won't make much sense if you don't read the first part of the series. 
> 
> Enjoy!

_“TONY!!”_

_Steve screamed in agony, fighting against the medical team. A doctor forced a needle into Steve’s neck, trying to control the superhero._

_Slowly, Steve’s movements became uncoordinated, his eyes fighting to stay open. With one final push, Steve broke free of the doctors, collapsing next to Tony’s still form. He flopped an arm out, his fingers just barely out of reach of Tony’s._

_“Tony…please,” he whimpered. With that, Steve’s eyes fluttered shut, the last few tears falling off his cheeks to the ground._

Clint startled awake, lungs taking in huge gulps of air. His hands trembled as he brushed away the tears stinging his eyes.

It had been over a month since that day. Over a month since Tony died; since he failed. Over a month since Clint had been able to shut his eyes without hearing Steve’s screams.

Clint’s thoughts moved to Laura. His days were filled by an ache to return to her, to his family. But he couldn’t. The file he found at the campsite was filled with profiles of each of the Avengers, new and old. Clint couldn’t go back to them yet, not with the rest of the operation still alive. Going back to Laura could put her and the kids in danger, not to mention that he might be leaving the rest of the team unprotected against the rest of _Brimstone._

 _No, I need to finish this_. Each day that goes by is another day that his family is at risk. Last month, The Suit, or Finnegan Thorpe, had managed to bag both Captain America and Iron Man. No one had ever been able to do such a feat before.

Trying to fight Steve and Tony was like trying to contest the elements. Tony moved like water; fluid and unpredictable. He lets you think you have the upper hand, drawing you further out from shore, only for you to be caught up in a riptide. Or, in this case, a weaponized metal suit. Steve fought like air, able to change from a calm breeze to a destructive wind in seconds. He’s unyielding, able to take down the strongest opponents from sheer will alone. Both Avengers alone are a force to be reckoned with. But together? They were a typhoon; a vicious hurricane. No one ever stood a chance. There was never an eye to their storm, or a calm reprieve. There was only the battle, fierce and chaotic from start to finish. They came from different times, different ideals, different elements. But yet, when put together, Captain America and Iron Man are the most terrifying people to stand against.

_Were._

Clint shuddered. Tony had survived Afghanistan, palladium poisoning. Hell, he even chucked a nuke into the great beyond. But all it took was a simple business man to take the great Iron Man down. Finnegan Thorpe had killed Tony Stark. _No,_ Clint reminded himself. _You did._

Tony had trusted him. Steve had trusted him. His team had trusted him. And Clint had let them all down. It was a cruel reminder that Clint should never have been considered a superhero. Why he ever thought he could have been was beyond Clint.

He couldn’t go back to them. Couldn’t face them. _It’s better this way._ Working alone was like the good old days. Clint could move fast, taking down the rest of the operation silently. There was no one to worry about, except for himself. But at that point, dying on his vigilante mission didn’t seem to be a major concern for Clint.

Rubbing his eyes, he got up from his musty motel bed, walking over to the far wall. There Clint had tacked on any useful information he had gathered on Operation Brimstone. Which was a whole load of nothing. The packet he picked up in the forest had listed the head dogs of the entire operation, but after a month of searching, Clint had turned up zilch. All he had was a list of names and an old book.

_Dante’s Inferno._

Clint had never been much of a reader. No one had really bothered to teach him when he was in the circus, but even when he finally did learn, it seemed like a waste of time. Natasha, on the other hand, always seemed to have a book at hand. Whether she was curled up in the tower or on the way back from a long mission, Clint constantly saw her with a different classic in her hand.

Clint had forced himself to read this one however. About one week into searching, Clint realized that the list of nine names was getting him nowhere. Either these people didn’t exist, or they were so far off the grid, that they were impossible to track. It was only when he flipped through the files for the millionth time that he caught a break.

There was a letter, from one of the other nine to Thorpe.

_The tip has been sent out. Expect the Avengers within the week. Be ready to complete Phase I. Do not fail, or else. Treachery._

At first Clint thought that that ‘ _do not fail, or else treachery’_ was one sentence. But at a closer inspection, ‘ _treachery’_ stood alone. It wasn’t a warning; it was a signature. That’s why Clint couldn’t find them. They were using code names; they probably hadn’t used their real names in years, and if they had, they’ve long since deleted them from existence.

 _What the hell kind of code name is treachery?_ Clint had thought. Then it struck him.

\-------------------------

  _Clint strolled into the common room onto the way to the kitchen. There on one of the long couches sat Natasha, nose pressed into a book. Grinning, Clint stalked up to her._

_“Don’t even think about it,” she snapped, not even looking up from the worn pages._

_“How in the hell?” Clint stopped himself. It was Natasha; she knew everything._

_Abandoning his original quest, he flopped down on the couch next to her. “What are we reading this week?”_

_“Dante’s Inferno. It’s about a poet who has to traverse though the nine circles of hell to return to Earth.”_

_“Sounds pleasant,” snorted Clint. Looking at the front cover, Clint saw an interpretation of the nine circles, starting at limbo, and ending in treachery. He hummed._

_Natasha glared at him. “What?”_

_“Well, it seems that I belong in more than one of these circles. When I get to hell, how am I supposed to know where to go? Does this book come with directions?”_

_Natasha rolled her eyes, and smacked his head with the book. “Go and bug someone else,” she growled. Clint, cackling, jumped away before she decided that hitting him with a book wasn’t enough._

\-------------------------

 _If Nat could see me now_. Each name in the file came with a number, so it wasn’t long before Clint put the pieces together.

1\. Nicholas Beattie - Limbo

2\. Mackenzie Foster - Lust

3\. Joseph Chavez- Gluttony

4\. Finnegan Thorpe - Greed

5\. Abigail Ramsey - Anger

6\. Siegfried Kiefer – Heresy

7\. Delmar White - Violence

8\. Corbin Selby - Fraud

9\. Alfred Westbrook - Treachery

 

It all made sense. Thorpe had wanted to use his fake vibranium to scam the market, making him rich. The other eight code names probably coincided with whatever task they were given.

 _Great,_ Clint thought. The Avengers were used to dealing with aliens and gods seeking world domination. Now they had an insane cult of regular humans trying to drag them through hell and to their annihilation. _Just what we needed._

Clint glanced back at the clock. It was still way before dawn, but Clint knew that he wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep; not with his plagued dreams.

_Back to work._

\-------------------------

Tony stared blankly out into the forest before him. A strong hand threaded through his fingers, stirring him from his thoughts. Turning, he found Steve smiling softly at him. “You ok?”

Tony nodded, returning with a small smile. But he wasn’t, and he knew Steve was just as bad as him. Laura had been near hysterical when she found out Clint should have been home a month ago. What worried Tony, however, was not that Clint had been gone for a month; it was that he was gone for a month before anyone noticed.

Clint was like the team’s little brother. Annoying to have to deal with, but an irreplaceable family member all the same. Clint was one of the reasons Tony was still alive. If anything had happened to him- Tony shivered.

Not long after their talk with Laura, Steve and Tony made the decision to go back to the forest where everything happened. It was there best lead at finding Clint. Steve had called Natasha as well, sending her to Clint’s usual hideouts just in case.

As soon as they landed in the field however, Tony knew something had happened.

“Is that Clint’s quinjet?”

Sure enough, not far from where they had landed, was the quinjet that he kept on the farm.

“He never came back for it,” whispered Tony. The aftermath of the past mission was chaotic. Everyone was so frantic to get Tony and Steve medical attention, things just got overlooked. Natasha had said that Clint ran off to get his quinjet when Tony and Steve were being loaded on to the stretchers. Or so she thought. Everyone had just assumed that he went back for it and taken it back to the farm; back to Laura and his family. _So why was it still here?_

Searching the inside was fruitless; Clint had not been back there after leaving the first time. He was still out there, somewhere.

Tony sighed, looking back out at the woods. “Where is he, Steve?”

Steve pulled Tony against his chest, pushing his nose into Tony’s dark locks. “I don’t know. We’ll find him,” he promised, kissing Tony’s head. _We have to._


	2. Chapter 2

Clint smiled at the concierge before exiting his motel, slipping his bag over his left shoulder. Two days there was long enough; he needed to move on.

Clint considered his next move. Tracking the names on the list had gotten him nowhere, so Clint had moved onto the black market. Thorpe had been screwing around with vibranium; he was bound to have left some tips around the market. Hopefully that will lead him to another name on the list.

_It better._

Clint was getting antsy. It had been over a month and he had made no progress. This was not a good sign. The other eight are still out there, just waiting for their moment to pounce on the Avengers. Clint needed to find some answers before another one acts.

He didn’t know he was already too late.

\-------------------------

“You don’t have to go in if you don’t want to,” said Steve.

He and Tony stood before the final warehouse, the one they almost died in. Today had been a cruel trip down memory lane. Tony had shuddered against Steve when they found the remnants of the exploded building; Steve’s eyes still scanned the tree line like he was waiting for someone to try and take Tony from him. When they had reached their final destination, they stopped, unwilling to go back in.

“No. There could be something in there that can help us find Clint. Besides,” he said, smiling back up Steve. “I got you to protect me.”

Steve didn’t smile back, pulling away from Tony again. “I didn’t do much of a stand up job last time,” he whispered.

“Steve,” Tony returned in exasperation. He reached up and grabbed Steve’s face between his hands. “Look at me. I’m still here.” He placed a lasting kiss on Steve’s lips. “I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you.”

“No, you wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you,” Steve returned, a weak smile appearing on his face.

“Besides,” Tony continued. “I didn’t do a good job keeping you safe either.”

“We’ll call it even, then.” Steve pulled Tony close.

Steve still could not believe that he got to wake up next to Tony every morning; that he was the only one who got to. Steve looked forward to each morning when he got to watch Tony blink into consciousness, only for Tony to crinkle his nose and bury his face into Steve’s chest. It was adorable. Steve had been given a second chance; Tony’s life had been spared. Steve counted his blessings every day, and vowed to never let Tony slip away from him again.  

“Come on,” said Tony, dragging Steve from his thoughts. He let Tony pull him into the warehouse and down the stairs. Steve’s breath caught in his throat when he passed the mainframe. He could still see Tony’s blood stained on the floor. Tony immediately reached out for Steve, rubbing soothing circles into his back to reassure Steve that he was still here and breathing.

The two slowly searched through each of the rooms, trying to ignore their past and look for anything useful to find Clint. “Anything?” Steve heard Tony ask from down the hall.

“Nothing,” Steve answered. “Don’t worry, Natasha said that there is a campsite to the south that we can still check.”

“ _Don’t worry?!”_ Tony nearly shouted. “Steve, Clint has been gone for over a month! How did no one know about this?!”

“Tony, you were _dying._ We needed to get you- ”

“It doesn’t matter Steve! What kind of team doesn’t account for all of its members?! What if something happened to him, Steve? There could have been others here; they could have taken him! We need to find him, Steve. If anything happened to him because of us, I- ”

Steve engulfed a near hysterical Tony into his arms, comforting him. Steve knew how important Clint was to Tony.

Clint was the most down to earth person Tony had ever met. He never once looked at Tony as everyone else did; he never made any assumptions. Clint was one of the first people to get to know the real Tony. He never said anything when Tony drank too much, or said harsh things. He never mentioned when he knew Tony had nightmares; he just sat with him until morning.

Clint was just as important to Steve. Clint was their lighthouse, their safe haven when they got caught too deep in the world. Clint always knew what they needed, before they even asked. Always had a ridiculous idea for Tony to start for when he was plagued by ghost of his past; always had a new thing for Steve to try for when Steve found himself wishing he died in the ice. Clint never saw them as everyone else did. Never saw them as alcoholic playboys, or washed up national icons. He only saw them as a friend, as family.

The fact that Clint had managed to be missing for a month sat terribly with Steve. Clint had risked so much to find Steve and Tony, literally throwing himself into the firestorm to get them out. If anything had happened to Clint after he had saved them, it would break Steve and Tony. Both of them were constantly haunted by people that they had gotten killed, but Clint would send them both overboard.

“It’s ok,” Steve soothed. “We’ll find him.” Steve didn’t know if he was saying that for Tony’s benefit, or for his own.

Tony took a deep breath, finally pulling away from Steve.

“You’re right. He’s fine. He has to be to.”

Steve reached out and grabbed Tony’s hand, placing a small kiss onto his knuckles. “Come on, that campsite isn’t going to search itself.”

They walked back up the stairs, heading out of the warehouse. A chirp from Tony’s phone pulled at the engineer’s attention.

“Happy! Listen, if I forgot about another meeting, I promise I’ll- ”

Tony froze, causing Steve to stumble into him.

“Tony, what’s wrong? Is it Clint?”

Tony said nothing, his mouth stunned open as wide as his eyes.

“ _Oh my god.”_

\-------------------------

A man slipped his lanky fingers through a greasy mop of hair. He tightened his grip on his package as he waited for the elevator.

The man watched as a fiery red head approached the lift. “Ah, good morning Ms. Potts,” he greeted warmly.

The CEO returned an easy smile. “Good morning, Nick! How are you this morning?”

“I’m doing alright, ma’am. Just taking it a day at a time.”

Pepper nodded in understanding. “You and me both, Nick.”

The elevator doors opened with a small ding. Pepper stepped in, before Nick stopped her. “I’m sorry, ma’am, is Mr. Stark in today?”

She shook her head, sighing. “No, Mr. Stark decided that he would play superhero today. If you have more fan mail, don’t worry about it. His ego doesn’t need it.”

Nick chuckled. “No, ma’am; got very specific orders for this one.” He handed her a small, heavy package. “I’m sure you can still sign for it, though.”

Pepper looked down at the package. “Yea, sure, not a problem. Who is it from?”

“Bruce Banner, ma’am.”

Pepper stilled, looking down at the package. “Is there a return address?”

Nick shook his head softly. “No, sorry. If I find one back at the office, I’ll let you know.”

Pepper smiled. “Thank you, Nick. See you later.” With a tip of his hat, Nick stepped wawy from the elevator, letting the doors close.

Pepper waited in the elevator, before getting out on Tony’s floor. Looking down at the package, Pepper beamed. Bruce was still MIA after Ultron, the fact that he was reaching back out meant great things. She reached for her phone to call Tony with the good news.

Outside, Nick walked away from Stark Industries with a smirk on his face.

_Idiots._

He pulled his phone out of his pocket, sitting down at a park bench to watch the show. With a few taps on his phone, he waited.

**BOOM!**

Nick looked up smiling. Before him, the top floor of Stark Industries burst open into a huge ball of flames.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a heads up!
> 
> Since this is a work in progress, I will probably be editing the tags, most likely adding warnings and characters as I go along, so be aware!


	3. Chapter 3

“Go,” Steve had whispered against his lips, before placing another desperate kiss against them. “I’ll be right behind you.”

Tony felt his armor surround him, blasting off before it even finished locking into place. Steve would follow him in the quinjet. Tony needed to get to Stark Industries now.

Happy had called him in terror; there had been an explosion in his office. _Where Pepper was._

Tony had been frantically calling Pepper, but to no avail. No one had heard from her.

“FRIDAY, how long?”

“Another fifty-seven minutes sir.”

“Get me there in forty-five. And try Pepper again.”

_Please be ok._

\-------------------------

Clint sat in a diner picking at his eggs. He had stopped by a safe house earlier in order to restock in funds. When he got there, Clint froze.

He sniffed. _Natasha’s perfume._

She had been here, not too long ago. That could only mean that the rest of the Avengers were looking for him. Gunning for him, most likely.

Clint knew how people worked. Past experience taught him that failing people usually meant a bullet in the head. And Clint had failed Captain America. Clint knew how Steve had gone off the handle after Bucky had fallen from the train, ending with a decimated HYDRA base and a plane in the ice. Lord only knows what he’d do now that Clint had let Tony die.

 He sighed, pushing his plate away. _So much for my appetite._ He stood, leaving money on the table. He had almost reached the door when the waitress turned the volume of the television.

_“An explosion has rocked through Stark Industries just moments ago.”_

Clint spun around on his heels, running up to the screen.

_“Officials have yet to release a statement on if there were any injuries. Also unknown, is if CEO Pepper Potts- ”_

Clint didn’t wait for an answer; he was out of the door in a flash to hear the rest.

_“It has, however, been confirmed that Tony Stark was nowhere near the blast. The billionaire was seen leaving earlier, and oh! It appears that the Iron Man suit has been spotted!”_

\-------------------------

Tony didn’t even stop to land on the ground; he flew straight into the burning mess that was his office.

“Pepper?!”

“Sir, I must advise against this- ”

“Not the time, FRIDAY. Scan for life signs.”

Tony looked around, overturning rubble. The initial reports that he had listened on his fly over there told Tony that there were only a few minor injuries reported so far. But they still hadn’t found Pepper.

“No life signs detected, Sir. With the structural integrity at only forty-two percent, might I suggest you evacuate the premises?”

“Not without finding Pepper,” Tony murmured, continuing his search.

_This is not good._

Tony had acquired many enemies over the years, whether it be from his past weapon dealings, or his new superhero persona. He knew that he wouldn’t be able to forgive himself if Pepper got hurt because of him. _Or worse._

“You have another call from Captain Rogers, Sir.”

“Ignore it. I need to find Pepper first.” That was the third time Steve had called. But Tony couldn’t face him until he knew that Pepper was safe. Tony knew that FRIDAY was transmitting his signal so Steve knew he was safe. But Tony couldn’t be distracted; Steve would be here soon anyway.

A piece of falling debris crashed net to him. Tony couldn’t help but shudder, remembering the last time he was in exploding building did not end well for him.

The further he continued his search, the more frantic Tony became. She wasn’t here; Pepper wasn’t here.

“Sir, you have another call- ”

“Ignore it, FRIDAY! We’ve got more important things to worry about!”

“But Sir. The call. It’s from Ms. Potts.”

“ _What?!”_

FRIDAY put through the call, only to hear a hysterical Pepper Potts. “Tony?! What the hell are you doing up there?!”

“Pepper,” Tony whispered.

“Did you forget to notice that the building you just flew into is on fire?!”

Tony ignored her question; he just flew out of the building, looking to the ground for a familiar redhead. Sure enough, just behind one of the police lines was his old friend.

“Jesus, Tony. You nearly gave me a heart attack! What could you possibly- ”

Tony sputtered. “I gave you a heart attack?! _I did?!_ Pepper where the hell were you?! You have a real problem not answering your phone when I need you to. You are going to be the death of me.”

Pepper rolled her eyes. “Oh don’t be so dramatic.”

_\-------------------------_

_Pepper waited in the elevator, before getting out on Tony’s floor. Looking down at the package, Pepper beamed. Bruce was still MIA after Ultron, the fact that he was reaching back out meant great things. She reached for her phone to call Tony with the good news._

_*Shit.* Pepper searched for the phone in her pockets. She sighed, remembering she left it in her purse. Which was in her car. She placed the package on Tony’s desk, walking back to the elevator._

_Her ride back down to the lobby was cut short._

**_BOOM!_ **

_Pepper screamed, grasping at the rails of the elevator. Tony designed the building, he saw to the production of the whole thing, so the elevator shook in only a minor tremor, before stopping its descent._

_The emergency lights went on, and Pepper tried to control her frantic heart. As of now, she was stuck between floors with no way of outward communication._

_*Goddamn it.* Pepper started to pound on the doors of the elevator. With luck, the people that were leaving the building would hear her._

_Sure enough, it wasn’t long before Pepper heard movement above her. Firemen cracked open the elevator doors above her, and with some rope, they were able to pull her through the crack._

_“Ma’am, are you alright?”_

_Pepper nodded. “Yes, I’m fine. What happened?”_

_A fireman led her to the staircase, walking with Pepper down the stairs. “There was an explosion in Mr. Stark’s office. Don’t worry, on one was up there, and everyone else is out. We’ve only been looking for you.”_

_The fireman continued, but Pepper didn’t hear him. An explosion. In Tony’s office._

_The package._

_But that couldn’t be right, the package was from Bruce. Right?_

_Pepper found herself being pushed out and away from the building. Looking up, she could see what used to be Tony’s office. She shuddered, thinking of how that could have been her._

_Pepper was pulled out of her thoughts when she saw a familiar red and gold suit blast into the fiery mess. Pepper groaned. Just what she needed. First the explosion, and now Tony Stark doing something completely stupid. Typical._

_Pushing her way through the crowd, Pepper started to make her way back to the building._

_“Excuse me, ma’am, I can’t let you go back in there.”_

_“Oh screw you, I own this building, I can do what I want,” she snapped back._

_Pepper stomped past the police line and over the parking garage connected to the left of the building. If she could get her phone, she can call the line in Tony’s suit._

_Finding her car easily, she grabbed her purse and started to move back to the police line._

_*Oops* she thought as she looked down at her phone, seeing that she had seventeen missed calls. Redialing Tony’s number, she prepared herself for upcoming argument._

_“Tony?! What the hell are you doing up there?!”_

_\-------------------------_

Steve cursed as Tony’s line went to voicemail again. His signal was still strong, so Steve knew that Tony was ok. But that meant that he was ignoring Steve.

Steve couldn’t find himself to be angry at Tony. He knew that Pepper was basically family to Tony, and that he would be devastated if anything happened to her.

He willed the quinjet to faster. Tony needed him.

A phone call pulled him out of his head.

“Tony?” Steve answered, sounding a little too desperate.

“No, sorry to disappoint.”

“Sam? What’s wrong?”

“Dude, you need to get here. Like now. There’s been an explostion.”

“Yea, Sam, Tony and I already got a call. He should almost be at Stark Industries now, he flew ahead in the suit.”

“Stark Industries? Why? We need you guys here.”

Steve felt his blood run cold. “What are you talking about?”

“Steve. There was an explosion. At headquarters.”


	4. Chapter 4

_Sam Wilson sprinted into headquarters._

_He was late. Again._

_Steve was on medical leave after what happened, but apparently a mending broken arm wasn’t enough to get a leave of his own._

_With the Captain away, Natasha was running the show. Which is why Sam was franticly running up to the main building._

_Steve always ran the team firmly, but Natasha was absolutely unforgiving. Sam would be running laps for hours. *Oh, god.*_

_He was pushing through the security desk when the last guard stopped him._

_“Oh, Mr. Wilson! You wouldn’t happen to know where Romanoff is, do you?”_

_“I’m heading up to see her right now, actually.” *Where she will probably have my head on a stake.*_

_The guard handed him a package. “This just came in for here. From Bruce Banner?”_

_Sam whipped around. He had heard about Banner’s disappearance. And the girl he left behind. Natasha was always so strong, never let anyone see her weak. And then the one time she did, the guy just disappeared into the horizon with a quinjet. Natasha never made the same mistake again, resorting back to what she knew best: a cold demeanor and smart comments. Sam could see underneath, she was just protecting herself from getting hurt again._

_Sam looked at the package. Bruce had sent her something. He could leave it here, but hey, got keep love alive right?_

_Sam smirked to himself. I’m the best wingman ever. *Heh, wingman.*_

_“If you wanna wait a few minutes to scan this, I can send it up with you?”_

_“Don’t worry about it, man.” *I can’t afford to wait any longer.* “It’s from Banner, anyway. I’ll just take it now.”_

_Sam grabbed the package and ran up the stairs. Maybe this will put this Natasha in a better mood._

_“You’re late, Wilson.”_

_Natasha’s steely calm voice pierced Sam’s ears, causing him to drop the package. *Damn spy.*_

_“Listen, Nat. I have a good excuse this time. There was this girl.” Natasha rolled her eyes._

_“I don’t have time to hear about your latest conquest, Wilson.”_

_“Ok, Nat, you can kill me later. Look what came in today.” Sam reached down for the package, but Natasha kicked it farther away from him, down the hall._

_“Sam. You signed up to be an Avenger; you know what that means. This isn’t just another job. This is your life now! A full time responsibility to protect the world. You need to treat it as such.”_

_Natasha walked further down the hallway, retreating down the stairs. “Head to the training room.”_

_Sam sighed as he followed her. “You can chew me out later, just let me finish. The package, it’s from- ”_

**_BOOM!_ **

_Natasha and Sam found themselves being thrust back by a huge explosion._

\-------------------------

“Another explosion?!” Steve’s heart was pounding in his chest. “Is everyone alright?”

“More or less. It didn’t do any wonders for my arm, and Nat got some bruising from falling down the stairs, but that’s not the problem. The explosion was in a hallway by the main offices. Nat and I dug our way out but we’re still trying to get people out.”

_Oh god._

“Steve. We need you here. The package, I brought it in. The guard said it was from Bruce Banner.”

“ _What?!”_

_Bruce couldn’t be behind this. He couldn’t._

“The longer we wait, the more the rubble could shift. We need you here to get to them. Please, Steve.”

Steve’s mind was racing. Two explosions in one day, let alone in one hour was no coincidence. Tony was probably at Stark Industries now, but since he didn’t call, who knows what happened. But Steve trusted Tony. If anyone could handle an attack on his company, it was Iron Man. His team needed him now.

“Alright, just hang tight, I’m on my way.”

After hanging up with Sam, Steve immediately tried to reach Tony. He wasn’t surprised when he got his voice mail, but Steve decided to leave a message.

“Tony. I’m still on my way: I just need to stop at headquarters first. Call me if anything happens, and please stay safe.”

Steve contemplated about telling Tony about the explosion, but decided against it. Tony had enough on his plate; he needed to help his people right now. Besides, Steve trusted FRIDAY to tell Tony about the explosion at headquarters. Once he knew Pepper was safe, Tony would come and help Steve.

Steve changed his course to headquarters.

\-------------------------

“Are you alright?”

“Yes, Tony. For the millionth time, _I’m fine._ Everyone here is fine.”

Tony huffed, his eyes still raking over Pepper, looking for injuries. Finally satisfied, he sighed. “Alright, then. Let’s take care of this.”

Tony stepped towards the fire chief, but Pepper stopped him. “Tony, wait. There’s something you need to know. The package- the bomb. It was from Bruce.”

“Wha- Bruce? That’s not possible.”

“Tony, I read the address label myself, it was from him!”

“Pepper, it was from someone who can spell Bruce Banner. You know that this couldn’t have been him.”

Pepper nodded, her eyes softening. “I know that, Tony. But if it wasn’t Bruce, then who was it?”

Tony looked up at his still smoking company. “I don’t know, but it can’t be good. I need to get back in there.”

“Get back in there? Tony, what the hell?” snapped Pepper.

“I need to get my hands on those bomb remains. I can bring them to the Avengers headquarters; get us some leads on the bastard that did this.”

Tony blasted off, heading back up to the destroyed office.

Across the street, Nick smiled.

_Yes, that’s right Mr. Stark. Go back inside._

The thing about being a mailman, or even a fake one at that, is that sometimes they have heavy mail days. Which means that certain buildings can receive more than one package in one day.

He reached back into his pocket, pulling out his phone. His second explosion at the Avengers base had been confirmed, but he still had his last card to play.

He waited until Stark’s suit reentered the building. He tapped a code into his code, sitting back, ready for the finale.

_Third time’s the charm._


	5. Chapter 5

Clint sped through the streets. He had reached the outskirts of New York; he needed to get to Stark Industries.

Pepper Potts was like family to Tony; Clint needed to protect Tony’s family. Maybe it would make up for the fact that Clint had failed to protect Tony.

 _Oh, come on!_ Clint had been away from New York for weeks now, it seemed he forgot that the city was often prone to traffic jams. He slammed on the brakes when he found himself in a major pile up. Cling didn’t have time for this.

_Screw this._

Clint leapt out of the car, and started sprinting towards the building. It didn’t matter; the car was stolen anyway.

He forced his way through the crowds faster, not caring for the bodies he pushed out of the way.

He could fix this. Clint wasn’t going to fail anyone again.

\-------------------------

Tony flew back into Stark Industries. “FRIDAY, scan for the bomb remains.”

Tony himself started searching around his office again, when FRIDAY stopped him. “Sir, there’s a problem.”

“Listen, there has to be something left from the bomb in here- ”

“It’s not that, Sir. There has been another explosion. At the Avengers base.”

Tony’s eyes widened. _An explosion at the base._ The two bombings have to be connected. Whoever did this is not just going after him, he’s gunning for his team as well.

“FRIDAY, call Steve.”

“Captain Rogers is not available at this time, but he did leave you a voice message.”

_“Tony. I’m still on my way; I just need to stop at headquarters first. Call me if anything happens, and please stay safe.”_

Tony’s heart was pounding. Steve stopped at base. Where there had just been an explosion.

_Oh god, oh god, oh god._

Tony got ready to shoot off towards the base, when a huge tremor rocketed underneath him.

When Tony got a hold of his bearings, he heard a sickening creak. Looking up, he saw the support beams groaning under, the stress. Tony barely had time to gasp before he was crushed under falling rubble.

\-------------------------

With the speed of the quinjet, Steve found himself at base in ten minutes. Agents were frantically running around, darting quickly around the still smoky building.

“Steve!”

Steve turned to find Sam and Natasha sitting next to a parked ambulance. A doctor was still putting some bandages over Natasha’s ribs.

“You ok?” Steve said as he walked over.

“Nothing I can’t handle,” she replied with a smirk.

Sam tugged on Steve’s shoulder. “Come on, man. There are still agents in there.”

With one final nod to Natasha, Steve and Sam ran into the building.

The inside of their base was torn to shreds. The usually bright walls were littered with soot, the walls that managed to survive the blast, that is.

It wasn’t long before Steve and Sam found their way to the collapsed floor. The fallen walls and supports were no match for Steve’s strength. Slowly but surely, they reached the offices trapped by the falling debris.

Steve sighed in relief when they found the missing agents, all alive, with minimal scraps and bruising. The offices they were in had shielded them from the brunt force of the explosion.

“Is that everyone?” Sam called out.

“Yes,” answered a disheveled looking Maria Hill. “No one else was near the explosion.”

“We still have our work cut out for us. There was an explosion at Stark Industries as well. But with the second attack here, it’s no question that whoever’s behind this is after the whole team,” said Steve.

“What’s the situation over there?” asked Hill.

Steve shook his head. “I’m not sure; I haven’t gotten word from Tony yet.” He palmed for his phone, sighing when he realized he left it on the quinjet. “How could this happen?”

 “I brought the bomb in. This is on me,” replied Sam.

Steve placed a reassuring hand on Sam’s shoulder. “Sam, this isn’t your fault. You couldn’t have known that there was a bomb in there. And look, everyone made it out just fine.”

“That’s not the point Steve! I waved it through security. If I hadn’t done that, they would have scanned and found the bomb in there.”

“What? Why?!” shouted Hill.

“The package was from Bruce Banner. I just assumed it was safe.” Sam looked away with a quiet sigh.  

“Obviously whoever it was, was hoping that this would happen. This couldn’t have been Bruce,” answered Steve.

“I agree. I’ll have agents start analyzing whatever of the bomb is left. We’ll catch the bastard,” said Hill, already walking away.

Steve turned back to Sam. “Don’t beat yourself up. You couldn’t have known. No one here blames you, so you shouldn’t either.”

Sam nodded, and started to reply when Natasha came bursting in. “We’ve got a problem. There’s been an explosion at Stark Industries.”

“Nat, calm down. We already know; Tony is already over there dealing with it,” Steve responded.

Natasha shook her head, her eyes wide. “No, Steve. _There was another one.”_

Steve’s world came crashing to a full stop.

_Another one._

He had let Tony go ahead. He let Tony go ahead _on his own._

_Oh god, oh god, oh god._

Steve hadn’t thought twice about the fact that Tony wasn’t answering his phone. Steve hadn’t thought twice about heading to base before helping Tony first.

And now, because of Steve’s stupidity, he may have just lost his lover to an explosion. Again.

Steve took off sprinting for the quinjet. He didn’t even bother to wait for the rest of his team. His mind was taken over by one thought. _Tony._

_Please, don’t let this happen again._


	6. Chapter 6

Tony groaned.

“FRIDAY?”

When answered with silence, he looked down. “Ah, shit.” A falling rod had been really lucky; it had pierced right through the arc reactor’s casing and shorted out the suit. Which meant no more FRIDAY and a whole bunch of dead weight.

Tony started to manually find the clasps to take off his suit. He stopped however, when he realized that the lower half of his body was stuck under some fallen ceiling.

_Today just keeps getting better._

Tony tried to pry himself out from under but to no avail. The weight of the ceiling plus the extra weight of the metal suit proved to be too much for the engineer. Tony’s strengths had limits; he wasn’t Steve.

_Steve._

Tony’s heart leapt. There was an explosion at the compound. Steve had been there, and he hadn’t answered his phone.

And now, Tony was stuck under parts of his building, meaning he couldn’t even get out to see if Steve was alright.

_I need to get out of here._

\-------------------------

Clint Barton was dying for a reprieve but he refused to stop.

He was almost at Stark Industries; he could see the smoke billowing in between the other buildings.

He finally allowed himself to slow when he finally made it. His eyes scanned through the crowds, the firemen, the chaos. Until he saw her.

_Oh thank god._

“Pepper!”

The redhead whipped around, mouth opening in shock when her eyes found the archer. _“Clint?!”_

Clint ran over to her, searching for injuries. “Thank god, you’re ok. You are ok, right? I mean, should I call- ”

“WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?!”

Clint couldn’t help but flinch at Pepper’s shrill tone. After moving in to the tower, Clint had the pleasure of watching the domineering CEO turn Tony into a pile of mush about once every week. While back then it had brought endless enjoyment for Clint, actually being the one who actually who pissed off Pepper was horrifying.

“Uhh. I- well…”

“I don’t want to hear you’re excuses Clinton Francis Barton,” said Pepper, holding up a firm hand. “We have been looking everywhere for you! _We all thought you were dead!_ And then, you show up all out of the blue like nothing happened?! You are in big trouble, mister.”

Clint was speechless. Pepper had just ripped him a new one. It was like getting his ass handed to him by a middle school teacher. Except Clint had a feeling that this was worse. _God, she is terrifying._

“Pepper, listen. This really isn’t the time. I just thought that- ”

“I don’t care what you think. You’re more reckless than Tony ever was!”

Clint couldn’t help but flinch again. _Here it comes._

This was the reason why Clint couldn’t go back home; couldn’t go back to his team. He couldn’t deal with the death of Tony, especially because it was his fault. He couldn’t handle what they would say to him, what they would do to him. And now Clint was going to have to face his worst fears. With Pepper Potts of all people. He wouldn’t come out of this alive.

“Speaking of which.” Pepper turned back to the building, when

**BOOM!**

Clint automatically reached for Pepper, shielding her under his back. Once the explosion had subsided, Clint peered up at Stark Industries. A second explosion, closer to the ground, had gone off, causing more of the building to crumble.

Firemen and police were scrambling into action, trying to push frantic citizens farther from the bomb site.

Below him, Pepper had turned white as a sheet. “ _Oh god.”_

“Hey, it’s ok, we’re ok,” replied Clint, trying to soothe her.

“No, not us. He’s still in there!”

“Who?”

“Tony!”

Clint froze. “ _What?”_

“Tony! He flew back in there, something about getting the bomb remains. Listen, we need to get back in there!” Pepper tried to pull on Clint’s arm, but he refused to budge.

There was a roaring in his ears, his vision was blurry. He could feel his blood pounding through his veins. But none of that mattered. His mind was focused on one thing.

_Tony._

Clint felt his knees give out. “He- he’s alive?”

Pepper stared in shock down at the Avenger below her. Clint was staring at her, looking paler than a ghost. _Oh my god._ “You thought he was dead?” Pepper whispered to him.

“But-but I saw him die! There was a remote, and-and The Suit was there! I didn’t kill him in time. I killed Tony. It was my fault.” Clint broke off into sobs, caught in the dark memory.

Pepper kneeled down next to him, pulling under his chin to force him to look back up at her. “Is this why no one could find you? Because you thought you killed Tony?” Clint looked away with watery eyes. “Oh god, Clint.” She tugged him close. “Listen to me. Tony is not dead. It is not your fault. He’s in that building right now, I promise you.”

Clint pulled back enough to look at Stark Industries. Pepper wouldn’t lie about this. Not about Tony. He took a deep breath, standing back up. He had been given a second chance. Tony’s life was once again cradled in Clint’s hands. He would not fail.

_Not today._

Clint sprang into action. He hopped the police barricade, running towards the building.

“Hey, you can’t go in there. It’s not safe!”

“The hell I can’t,” Clint snapped back. He easily avoided the firemen trying to block his path, running into the building.

Since the elevators were offline, Clint would have to rely on the stairs. _Thank god Steve enforced cardio days._

The second explosion had been right under the first, which could have caused big structural problems. Tony could have gotten been sucked in by the collapsing floor, or gotten caught under falling debris. Clint shuddered at the possibilities.

A sheen of sweat had covered Clint when he reached what was left of Tony’s floor. The door had already been blown off its hinges, but there was wreckage everywhere. The last thing Clint wanted to do was to step on something to shift the rubble to much that could end badly for both him and Tony.

He chose his steps wisely, all while his sharp eyes scanned the rubble. The small fires that remained attacked Clint’s lungs, but he didn’t let that deter his search. There was no way that he was leaving here without Tony.

“Son of a bitch!”

Clint all but collapsed at the sound of that voice. A voice that he thought he would never hear again. Clint almost cried.

Not caring for his own safety, Clint raced to the voice. He stumbled into some overturned pipes, giving Clint a nasty gash, but if anything, he pushed ahead faster. Just over the third mound of debris was a familiar red and gold suit. With a familiar man cursing within.

“ _Tony?”_ Clint asked in a small voice.

Tony’s head whipped over to Clint. “Clint? Jesus Christ, Clint, is that you?!”

Clint said nothing. He walked over to Tony slowly, until his legs gave out under him. Shaking hands reached out to touch the metal of the suit, tracing along the arc reactor, and up the sides until they got to Tony’s face. Not stopping his journey, Clint’s hands traveled onto Tony’s skin, feeling the warm flesh.

“Clint?” Tony prompted again, eyeing the archer with confusion.

Clint still didn’t respond, until a broken moan escaped his lips when he felt Tony’s strong pulse under his finger. Without even bothering to stop his tears, Clint dropped his head on top of Tony’s suit and began to cry.  

“Jesus, Clint. Calm down, I’m not dead or anything.” Tony’s remark only made Clint sob harder. “Wait a second. Where the hell have you been?! Steve and I have been trekking all over this goddamn earth looking for you!”

When Clint still didn’t look up, Tony’s brow furrowed. Something was wrong. He took in Clint’s appearance. He was a wreck. It looked like he hadn’t showered in days. Dirt and grime covered the man, alongside a snarly beard that had formed. His cheeks were sunken; Clint definitely wasn’t eating right. There was a huge gash along Clint’s side causing blood to slide down onto the suit. And that’s not even mentioning the fact that the man had basically broken on top of Tony.

Tony finally used one of his hands to grab at Clint’s face, forcing him to make eye contact. “Clint, what the hell?”

“You’re alive,”he whispered.

Tony rolled his eyes. “You really thing some amateur bomb stood a chance against this suit? I’ll be embarrassed if I come out of this with a single bruise,” Tony joked.

But Clint only shook his head. “No. _You’re alive.”_

Tony felt the gears in his head move, trying to catch up. _Oh god._

Clint had disappeared after the warehouse. After The Suit. After the remote. Steve had explained to him that he thought Tony had perished there as well, back at the hospital. If Steve thought Tony was dead, Clint could just have easily fallen under the misconception. “You thought I was dead. Because of The Suit.”

“ _Because of me.”_

Tony scoffed. “What are you talking about?”

“Steve told me to kill The Suit. I got cocky; I thought I could handle it. I didn’t kill him in time. He used the remote on you. It was my fault. I thought I killed you.” Clint broke off with a groan, fresh tears spilling down his face.

Tony felt his eyes soften. He understood. If anything, Clint was just another version of himself, constantly weighed down by his failures, trying to prove that he’s not the monster he thinks he is. Tony knew that if anything ever happened to the team, it would destroy him. Wanda’s vision proved that. Clint must have been shattered, thinking that Tony was dead. Tony just about started crying himself when he heard Clint’s quiet mantra of _“I’m sorry, I’m sorry”_ into his chest.

“Clint, look at me. I’m ok, I’m still here. Everything’s ok now.” Tony could see Clint try to control his breathing, but all he got were more wet gasps. Tony reached up and pulled the other man in a tight embrace. It didn’t matter that he was stuck under rubble in a probably still unsafe building. Clint needed him now. Clint needed him weeks ago, and Tony could only curse himself for not noticing Clint’s absence sooner. He pushed his metaled hands gently through Clint’s hair, as if soothing a child. Tony could slowly feel Clint get control of his breathing, the short pants lengthening out. Another groan in the foundation pulled at Tony’s attention.

“Hawkeye. I need you.”

Tony could see the exact moment when Clint changed. Away went the broken shell of a man, only to be replaced by a hardened soldier. An Avenger. Clint pushed himself back up, his sharp eyes taking in the situation. Not even waiting for directions, Clint positioned himself over the fallen rubble. With a quick nod to Tony, the two managed to pull the piece of ceiling off of the suit. Clint shot back down to Tony’s side, looking for injuries.

“The suit?”

“Dead. There are manual overrides, here.” Tony showed them to Clint, helping the archer take each piece off. Finally, Tony was free, grabbing the assisting hand from Clint to stand back up.

Clint couldn’t help himself. He swept Tony up into another hug, sighing in relief when Tony’s arms squeezed him back. “I’m still here, buddy. I’m not going anywhere.”

A tremor below them startled both of the men. “We need to leave. Don’t worry about the suit. We can come back and get it once we know the building’s safe.”

Clint nodded, already pushing Tony towards the door. The run back down the stairs was slower; Clint’s gash slowing him down as well as Tony’s shaky legs. When they reached the bottom floor, the men stopped.

“Shit,” muttered Clint.

The last tremor caused some of the building to collapse, blocking the main entrance.

“It doesn’t matter. We need to go out the back anyway,” replied Tony, pulling Clint to the rear of the building.

“Why?”

“There was another explosion. At base. The rest of the team is there. I need another suit, and you need a jet. We need to get to them.” Tony led Clint to another emergency exit, picking up the pace.

Finally reaching outside, both men took off in a sprint, heading towards the tower. 


	7. Chapter 7

~~~

_Steve watched as someone in a suit dug a knife farther into Tony’s skin._

_Tony whimpered, tears dripping to the floor as he squeezed his eyes even tighter._

_“Steve, please,” Tony moaned._

_Another cut. Tony thrashed against his bonds._

_Steve watched in horror as fresh blood pooled onto the floor. He tried to scream out to his lover, tried to help, but nothing happened._

_“Steve, help me, please!”_

_Tony’s screams rattled through Steve’s head. He needed to help Tony. He needed to save him. But no matter how Steve willed, his body refused to step closer to Tony. He was forced to sit and watch in agony._

_A small remote caught Steve’s eye. The mechanism was small in the hands of The Suit. He could hear Tony chanting “No, no, no please! Please, don’t! Steve!”_

_Steve started to scream at The Suit, trying anything to save Tony. He must have caught The Suit’s attention, because he began to turn towards Steve. Steve prepared himself for a fight, when he froze._

_Steve was not faced with The Suit, but with himself._

_The other Steve Rogers looked at him, with Tony’s blood covering his hands. With one final look at Tony, he smiled, pressing the remote._

_Steve watched himself kill Tony; watched him laugh as Tony arched against his restraints, only to collapse, lifeless eyes looking back at him._

_“TONY!!”_

_~~~_

_Steve screamed Tony’s name into the night, his nightmare still fresh behind his eyes._

_Immediately, Steve felt familiar arms wrap around him, covering him like a protective blanket._

_“Jesus, Steve. It’s ok, babe, I’m right here.”_

_Steve turned into Tony’s shoulder and sobbed. It was only a dream. A nightmare._

_Dreams like those have plagued Steve ever since they came back. Of course, Tony had his fair share of his own, leaving the two to hold on as each other’s life line._

_These ones were always the worst ones. Not the dreams that replayed what actually happened; no, they were the ones where Steve’s imagination ran wild. Making him the man to take Tony’s life. Making him the man in the suit. It was a sick joke his subconscious played on him; taunting Steve for his failure to keep Tony safe._

_Steve took in huge gasps of air, hands roaming all over Tony to prove to Steve that he was alright. He breathed in Tony’s scent, coffee mixed with some fancy cologne Steve couldn’t pronounce, with an underlying metallic trace. If he Steve sniffed hard enough, he could even smell his own musk on Tony’s skin._

_*Mine*, Steve thought, shuddering into Tony. *It’s not enough.*_

_Steve pushed Tony back down onto the bed, his lips crashing into Tony’s with a growl._

_Tony made a muffed noise before returning the kiss in earnest. Steve pulled away from Tony’s lips only to attack his neck._

_“Steve, what the- oh fuck, yes,” Tony hissed as Steve clamped down into the meat of his neckline._

_Steve’s mind was a runaway train. It wasn’t enough. He needed more Tony. Needed him closer._

_Starting to catch on to Steve’s current state, Tony let himself relax, allowing Steve manhandle him out of his clothes._

_*More, more, more.*_

_Steve scraped his fingers down Tony’s side, tongue licking at the red marks left there. Tony tried to reach up and get Steve’s clothes off, only to have his hands pushed back and above his head. Steve held on to them with one hand before ripping off his own boxers._

_Steve didn’t stop to look for lube; there wasn’t any time. Besides, the noises that Tony was making under him proved that he wasn’t going to make it that far._

_Steve smothered Tony; pushing their cocks together. Tony could only keen; rutting back against Steve as hard as he could._

_The room was filled with Steve’s loud pants accompanied by Tony’s pleads. Steve’s thrusts were unforgiving, both men’s cocks sliding together harshly._

_“Steve, Steve, I’m-I’m gonna- ” Tony broke off with another strangled moan. Steve growled again, reaching a hand in between to fist their cocks._

_Steve barely had his hands wrapped around them both when Tony shouted, cum splattering onto his chest. Hearing his lover pushed Steve over the edge, releasing with a drawn out groan.  Steve collapsed on Tony, both men trying to catch their breath._

_“Holy shit,” Tony said in between gasps. His smile faltered when he saw tears streak down Steve’s cheeks._

_“Oh, Steve. It’s ok. Don’t cry, babe. Whatever you saw, it wasn’t real. I’m right here.” He pulled Steve’s crying form into his arms, his hands stroking into Steve’s hair._

_“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Steve whispered into Tony’s chest. He felt Tony’s curl under his chin, forcing Steve to look up at him._

_“Don’t. Don’t do this to yourself. I can’t sugarcoat this for you; you’ll still have nightmares, I’ll still have them. We can’t just decide to get rid of them. But none of that matters. The only important thing is that you need to know that each time you’ll wake up I’ll be here. I’ll be here, and I’ll be real. You need to know that I’ll hold you every night, watch over you, and be with you until I chase them away. Just like I know you’ll do the same for me.” Steve shivered, linking his hands with Tony._

_“You listening to me, Winghead?” Tony pressed their joined hands against Tony’s chest, letting Steve feel his strong pulse. “I’m not going anywhere. Not while you’re still here.” Steve smiled softly, allowing Tony pull his into a sweet kiss, the exact opposite of their recent love making._

_Tony curled around Steve and whispered sweet nothings into Steve’s hair until they both drifted back to sleep._

\-------------------------

Steve’s mind played back the memory. That had only been last week. Last week and Steve had Tony still molded against his body. Last week when the two laughed without a care in the world. Last week when there was nothing but love.

But that was then. This is now.

Clint was missing. Base was bombed. Stark Industries was bombed. Tony’s status was unknown. Inside the quinjet alone, Steve was plagued by voices in his head, asking ‘ _what if?’._

No. Tony was fine. He had promised Steve he wouldn’t leave. If anything, Steve was pretty sure that Tony would outlive death just to get a final laugh in. So, no. Tony is alive. _Right?_

Steve rubbed his temple, forcing the quinjet to go faster. He could see smoke billowing in the city’s skyline.

_Oh god._

The jet pulled up alongside Stark Industries, and Steve could only look in horror at the huge hole in the side of the once sleek building. His eyes immediately scanned the skies, the ground, and the building, searching for the familiar streak of red and gold. But there was no suit; Tony wasn’t there. Which could only mean he was still inside. Steve glanced back down at the city below, his mind formulating a quick plan.

_The city._

There was a problem Steve did not account for. Where exactly does one park a quinjet in New York?

 _Fuck it._ Steve did not have time for this. Tony was still in the building, and potentially hurt. He pulled as close as he could to Stark Industries, leveling out with the gaping hole, and flipped on auto pilot. He smashed in the coordinates for the home base, feeling the quinjet start to turn around to head back to base.

He pushed another button to open the gangway, smoky air filtering into the cockpit. Steve grabbed his shield and took a deep breath.

_For Tony._

With a running start, Steve sprinted through the quinjet leaping out of the open ramp and into Stark Industries.

He landed with a thud, the harsh jump pushing the air for Steve’s lungs. He groaned as he felt his right knee landed the wrong way on some debris.

Steve pushed himself up, using his shield as a make shift crutch. The inside of the building looked worse than the outside, Tony’s office looking like a blackened, empty shell.

“Tony?!” Steve tried to call into the wreckage.

Steve bit his lip when there wasn’t an answer. _Nope, nope. He’s fine. Clear your head, soldier._

Steve walked through the rubble gently, eyes darting all over. Until he found the suit.

“Tony!”

Steve raced over to the familiar metal man. It was empty. _Wait, what?_

If the suit was here, where was Tony? Tony had taught him enough about the suit for Steve to know that the suit was dead. The fact that that bottom half lay really close to a huge chunk of ceiling did not sit well with Steve.

But an empty suit meant that Tony was not in here. He’s probably down with the crowd, arguing with the fire marshals. Steve, relief pouring over him, image playing out in his mind. _Tony was fine. He was safe. He was- what the?_

When Steve pulled his hand back from the cool metal, it came back sticky.

_Blood._

Steve’s mind went into overdrive. Blood. Tony’s blood. Tony’s blood all over the suit. Tony was bleeding. Tony was hurt.

Steve’s heart threatened to leap out of his chest as he stood back up.

“Tony? Tony!” Steve found himself crying out for his lover again. It was pointless, he knew. Most of the blood that he found had dried already.

Steve anxiously started to follow the small trail of blood leading down to the fire escape stairs. Tony was still out there. And Steve needed to find him.

\-------------------------

Nick smiled as his last explosion rocked through the building. He had seen Iron Man go in.

And not come back out.

What was better, was that another Avenger, the archer, had showed up on the scene and proceeded to enter the building as well.

Of course it was just the cherry on top when fucking Captain America flung himself into the building. _Christmas has come early, Nick._

This was all too easy.

Nick smiled as a fireman walked over to him.

“Sir, is everything alright?”

Nick couldn’t help but grin. “Why yes. Everything is _perfect._ But just to let you know, I’ve been here the whole time. There are three Avengers in that building and I haven’t seen any come out. Someone should go find them.”

The fireman nodded. “Oh course.” The fireman started to walk back towards Stark Industries, his hand slipping into his uniform checking that his pistols were still in place. The fireman grinned.

 _Someone will go find them. And that someone is me._  


	8. Chapter 8

“You have a phone?” Tony panted next to Clint.

“No. Went off the grid. Couldn’t take a chance of anyone finding me.”

Tony scowled back at Clint. “Oh, of course. God forbid you would want to find you. It’s not like you have a family or anything.”

Clint groaned. “Tony, this really isn’t the time.”

Tony screeched to a halt, causing Clint to run into him. Tony spun around, eyes blazing. “No, this may not be the time, but you are far from being in the clear. You and I are going to have a long talk about self-destructive tendencies. We all thought you were dead!”

“I thought you were dead! And don’t give me any of that ‘let me teach you a lesson’ bullshit. You are no better than me Tony Stark, and if you think for one minute that you wouldn’t go off the handle if you thought you lost one of your own, then you- ”

Clint broke off when he left tears spill down his chin again. _When did this happen?_ When did Clint Barton turn into this broken shell of a man? He used to be so much more than this. _When did I become so weak?_

“You’re not.” Clint flinched when he realized that he spoke out loud.

“You’re just realizing that you aren’t just living for you anymore. It’ll take a while to get used to, trust me. It’s like any other addiction; the first step is admittance,” joked Tony with a small chuckle.

Clint couldn’t help but give a watery smile. “Now come on, you can grovel to me later. We need to get to base.”

The two took off running for the old Avengers tower.

“No offense old man, but are you gonna be able to make it all the way there?” Clint had already noticed Tony’s labor breathing.

“Easy, Katniss. I only was in critical condition last month. But you’re right. Wait a second, what the hell am I doing?”

Tony stopped yet again, looking around. Walking to the left of them was a young woman, balancing shopping bags in both of her arms.

Tony ran a hand through his hair, rushing over to her. “Uhh, hi there.”

The woman startled, almost dropping her bags. Tony could only imagine how ridiculous he looked. Running around in his undersuit, covered in dust and grime from the explosions. But hey, he was Tony Stark. He probably still looked better than the average man of their best day.

“Oh- um. Mr. Stark?”

“That’s my name, don’t wear it out,” he said with a wink. Behind him, Tony could hear Clint groan. “Here’s the sitch; we need a phone. I gotta call a man about a suit, if you know what I mean. Wanna help an Avenger out?” Tony gave his best sultry eyes, and if some of his bedroom voice spilled through, oh well. _Still got it._

The woman blushed furiously before handing over her phone. “Oh, of course. Anything to help you Mr. Stark.” _God this is too easy._

Part of Tony’s mind was throwing up a red flag; that this was wrong. He had Steve now, and there was no way he was letting him go. He knew Steve always hated it when he coerced women and the occasional man. He always got that furrowed brow look, with a tight frown. Getting the look of pure disapproval from the Righteous Man himself never sat well with Tony.

But he was desperate. For all he knew, Steve was trapped below rubble at base, all alone. Tony recalled the brief consciousness he had when he was stuck under the exploded warehouse last month. It was horrible; awake and aware without being able to move.

And if it was bad for Tony, it would be absolutely dreadful for Steve. Steve had confided some of his deepest secrets to Tony after they had gotten together. Things that Tony wanted to forget every day. Like the fact that because of the super solider serum, Steve didn’t get knocked straight into unconsciousness when the plane crashed. That he sat there, under a fallen beam, trapped, just waiting. Watching as the ice slowly formed around his body, the cold seeping into his bones. Wondering when he would take his last breath.

Tony shuddered, remembering when Steve told him. Tony made sure that he wrapped around Steve each night, hoping, _praying,_ that he could relay to Steve that he was safe now; that Tony would always be there for him.

No, Tony could not lose Steve. He would do anything to keep him safe. Like flirting with the general public.

He punched a few numbers into phone, waiting for a familiar voice. “FRIDAY?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Listen; program the backup suit to my coordinates. And connect me with Romanoff.”

“Of course, Sir.” Tony waited until he herd Natasha pick up.

 _“Stark?_ Is that you?”

“Yea, Nat. Give me a sitrep.”                                                                             

“You give me one first! The last we heard, there were two explosions at Stark Industries. Is everyone alright?”

“Yea, yea, all accounted for. Actually, more than all,” Tony said with a glance at Clint. “But I heard there was an explosion at base. We all good? Where’s Steve?!”

“Calm down. Yes, there was a bomb. But we got everyone out; we’re on cleanup right now. But isn’t Steve with you? When he heard there was a second explosion, he tore out of here like a bat outta hell.”

Relief poured over Tony. Steve was fine. He was at Stark Industries. Where Tony was not.

_Oops._

One of Steve’s many qualities, one that Tony found incredibly hot, was that sometimes he got a little too protective when it came to the team. Nothing made Tony get all hot and bothered more than a Captain America on a rampage when one of the team was put in the line of fire.

But that was part of the reason that made Steve so dangerous. He was worse than a mother bear when separated from her cubs. And that mother bear is currently at Stark Industries. Where there had been two bombs. And where Tony had left his empty suit. Steve was probably not in the best state of mind. Not after recent events.

“Stark? Tony?”

Tony had completely forgotten he was on the phone with Natasha.

“Yea, I’m still here. Listen, I’m going to go and grab Steve. We’ll catch up with you later.” With that, he hung up, handing the phone back to the still gushing woman with a final wink.

A familiar sound pierced his ears. Looking up, he saw his backup suit hovering down to the ground. He didn’t hesitate to rush over to it, feeling the comfort of the metal suit conforming to his body. “Come on, we’re heading back to Stark Industries.”

Clint nodded before slinging his arms over Tony’s shoulders, assuming his usual position. He made sure Clint was secure before blasting up into the sky.

\-------------------------

“TONY?!”

Steve was getting frantic. He was almost back down to the main floor, the blood trail he was following not getting any smaller. If Tony had gotten hurt again, it would end Steve. Steve had promised that after everything that had happened, he would never lost sight of Tony again. And yet, here he was, searching for his potentially injured lover. Again.

Steve was a failure. He had no idea why Tony put up with him. Tony always saw himself as the insecure one; he was so sure Steve would pack up and leave. But it was Steve who didn’t deserve Tony. Tony, who always saw him as perfect, as someone who could do no wrong. But Steve was anything but. He was a constant disappointment. Steve would never be good enough for Tony.

_God, please let him be ok._

He reached the main entrance of the building, only to see it blocked by rubble. But the trail of blood led out the back exit.

_I’m coming, Tony._

Steve charged toward the back exit, only to be stopped by a fireman.

“Excuse me, sir. Have you seen Tony Stark?”

Steve could see the fireman look back at him with confusion. “He is not in here with you?”

“No, I checked already. Listen, you need to start a sweep. He’s injured; I’m not sure how bad.”

 The fireman sighed. “Oh, well. It does not matter.”

“It doesn’t matter?! Did you even hear me? We need EMT’s now!”

“I do not take orders from you, Captain.”

Steve took a step back, giving the fireman another look. Something wasn’t right. “Excuse me?”

“It is quite unfortunate that Mr. Stark managed to escape, but you’ll do just fine.” With that, the fireman pulled out two pistols from under his uniform and aimed them at Steve.

Time froze.

“I’m sorry to say, dear Captain, that this is the end of the line for you. Time to pay for your sins.”


	9. Chapter 9

Steve felt himself reach for his shield, but there was no point.

The world seemed to stop as he stared down the barrel of the gun, watching as the fireman pushed his finger against the trigger.

People always said your life was supposed to flash before your eyes. Your good memories, your bad ones. When Steve was in the ice, he never got that chance. There was no last minute burst from his adrenaline filled mind; the ice just slowly lulled him to sleep. But staring down the gun, Steve only saw one thing.

_Tony._

Tony’s smile. The way that it could light up a room more than fireworks. Or his eyes. How the amber specks seemed to be constantly moving, like tiny little gears continuously moving in those brown orbs. When Tony would bite his lip when he has caught up in his own head, nimble hands dancing over his creations with practiced ease. Or when he scrunched his face when the days first light hit his tanned face, causing Tony to burrow further into Steve’s chest.

When Tony told Steve he loved him for the first time.

He had been happy with Tony. If only he had move time with him. Get to tell Tony that he loved him at least one more time. Get to hold him in his arms one last time.

Steve shut his eyes, waiting.

He heard the shot go off and felt a force crash into him.

Seconds later, minutes later, years later, Steve heard a voice pierce his ears.

“-eve? Steve! Come on babe, look at me.”

Steve opened his eyes to be met with a familiar red and gold suit.

_“Tony?!”_

The mask snapped open, revealing the smiling pilot on the inside. _His pilot._ “Cutting it pretty close, aren’t we, Cap?” Tony said with a wink.

Steve stared back at him with wide eyes, a trembling hand reaching up to trace Tony’s smile. “Tony,” Steve felt him whisper again. His hand trailed to the back of the suit, grasping behind the neck. Tony was about to start talking again, but Steve crashed their lips together, moaning when he felt Tony’s plush lips back on his. Where they belonged.

Steve didn’t waste any time delving his tongue into Tony’s, relearning the engineer’s sweet taste. He caressed Tony’s face as he leaned in for more.

Tony eventually had to pull away for air, but that didn’t stop Steve form peppering kisses on the rest of Tony’s face. “I'm ok, big guy; We’re ok,” Tony said.

Steve finally pulled back, taking deep breaths to stop the few tears that threatened to slip down his cheek. “It’s good to see you, Shellhead,” Steve chuckled. Tony couldn’t help but drop his head into Steve’s chest, giggles sneaking out of his lips.

Steve finally looked around, taking in his surroundings. Tony must have blasted in with his back up suit right as the gun went off, pushing Steve out of the bullet’s trajectory.

Wait.

_The fireman._

Steve made a move to bolt back up, but Tony pulled him back down. “It’s ok, Clint took care of it.”

Steve peeked over Tony’s shoulder to see Clint Barton stand over the knocked out assailant.

_“Clint?!”_

Clint gave a small, embarrassed wave. “Uh, hi, Cap.”

_Clint was here. Clint was alive._

Steve gently pulled Tony to the side, finally standing up to walk towards Clint.

“Clint,” Steve whispered again, sweeping the archer into a tight hug.

“Jesus, Steve. Easy.”

 _“You’re alive.”_ Steve’s eyes tracked all over Clint’s body, looking for potential injuries, frowning when he found a long cut on Clint's side. Always the mother hen. “Where the hell have you been?!”

Clint flinched, but pointed back down to the unconscious fireman. “Listen, Steve. You can chew me out later. Let’s deal with this first.”

Steve nodded, squeezing Clint’s shoulder one last time. He walked back over to Tony and helped him up. Steve couldn’t stop himself from placing another kiss on Tony’s lips. He would never get over Tony’s kisses.

“Come on, let’s deal with this.”

Steve threw the fireman over his shoulder and the three men exited the building.

“We need to head back to base,” said Tony. Steve smiled at the fact that Tony was pressed close against his side, unwilling to leave any space between them.

“Well it’s a good thing I have that covered,” came a new voice.

The three men spun around to be met with the small smile of Natasha Romanoff. When she saw Clint, her smile turned into an icy glare.

“Nat,” Clint started.

“No. I don’t want to hear anything from you. Come on. I have a quinjet waiting.”

Clint looked back at the ground, as the other two men followed Natasha to the quinjet. Clint had thought that Steve and Tony would have given him the hardest time for him being missing, but he had totally forgot about Natasha. Nat was his longest friend; he never kept anything from her. But the fact that he had managed to dodge her for a month probably did not sit well with Nat. This was an ultimate betrayal. Clint would have to grovel for about two months for Nat to probably look at him again.

The four loaded the quintjet. Natasha setting the coordinates for home base. “Who the hell is he?” She gestured towards the limp fireman.

“That’s our latest problem,” replied Tony. “He just tried to kill Steve.”

“That’s not all,” Steve said, looking down at the fireman.

“What do you mean?”

“Before you showed up, he said that it ‘was the end of the line for me.’ I used to say that to Bucky all the time. But I only told that to him. No one else knows about that.”

“What are you saying?” Tony walked up next to him, linking their hands together.

“I’m saying that this man has to be HYDRA.”


	10. Chapter 10

“Anything?”

Tony walked up next to Steve, handing him a fresh cup of coffee. Steve just shook his head, but turned to offer a small smile to Tony in thanks for the hot drink.

Steve, Tony, and Clint had taken the quinjet base to base with Natasha and their new quest. Nat had barely talked, but considering how mad she was at Clint, it was completely understandable. Hell, Steve was absolutely furious at Clint. He was gone for a month and then he just shows up out of the blue like nothing happened? Steve was going to have words with him. Many words.

It didn’t take Steve long to figure out that Clint had the same mindset as Tony; the whole ‘I’m just going to put on a front so no one can see how worthless I feel’ thing. Steve always makes sure he tells Tony that he loves him every day, stealing kittle kisses, making him blush. Anything to convey to Tony that he was everything to Steve. Of course, Steve had attempted before they were even together. Whether it be listening to Tony ramble on for hours about things Steve couldn’t possibly understand, make sure Tony’s opinion was heard at team meetings (no matter how outlandish).

It worked the same way for Clint. Steve’s heart would always break a little when Clint would just gape at him when Steve agreed with his field strategies. It was if the archer had no idea why anyone would take his recommendation, use his maneuvers. Which was completely ridiculous. If anything, Clint Barton was the most skilled tactician Steve had ever had the pleasure of knowing. Steve would go down to Tony’s lab, just to watch him and Clint bicker over Clint’s arrows. Clint would always tell Tony exactly what he needed, what would work, what wouldn’t. In fact, there had been a couple times where Clint had just looked at an arrow made by Tony, and just shook his head. _“It won’t work.”_

What shocked Steve even more was that Tony just nodded, and said he’ll make a better one. Tony never let anyone criticize his work. Of course, being the genius that he is, Tony never really has to worry about that. Everything he makes works perfectly, and maybe it’s just his ego, but no one was allowed to bash Stark designs without the engineer’s fury.    

Steve remembered asking Tony about it later, how he let Clint walk all over his designs. Tony just got a small smile on his lips. _“You don’t realize how brilliant that man is, do you? I mean, I took years and years of physics courses just on calculating trajectories, but he could probably put me to shame. I mean, the guy does it in seconds, and sometimes he doesn’t even have to look! You know he told me that he can tell the wind mileage from how the breeze feels on his face? That he aim’s in his head, so by the time his arms move into the correct position, he’s already calculating his next target? I swear, it’s like you and that damn shield. You just know where to throw it; it’s incredible. So if Clint tells me that my arrows were not in his specific weight range without even touching them, I’m gonna trust his authority on that one.”_

Steve had been shocked; he never really thought that much into archery. But that was what made Clint Barton so spectacular. Just a normal guy taking on gods and aliens, all while using a medieval weapon. And maybe the fact that he could do it all with a smile on his face, and a joke on his lips was just an added bonus.

So yes, when Clint had disappeared Steve was devastated. But now he’s back, _and Steve is furious._

But now is not the time.

Back at base, Steve could see that some were still working on clean up from the explosion earlier today. He snapped at Clint to go to medical to get his chest wound taken care of, taking in the small flinch Clint made from the sound of his voice.

Steve and Tony had dragged the unconscious ‘fireman’ into an open interrogation room, waiting on the other side of the one way mirror, waiting for answers.

Of course when the man woke up, they got a whole lot of nothing. The man wasn’t giving them anything to work with. Steve had even sent Natasha and Hill in there. At the same time. No man should have been able to come out of that alive.

But he did. The man just kept smirking into the mirror, like he knew that Steve was watching them. The one thing that he managed to grit out was “Hail HYDRA,” making Steve’s blood boil.

“You alright in there?”

Steve startled out of his thoughts, looking back down at Tony.

Now that was another problem. Steve had promised to never let Tony out of his sight again, and now it was their first time back in the field since the last incident, and Steve had already managed to put Tony in danger.

“Uh oh. I know that look.” A calloused hand reached up to cup Steve’s face, and Steve didn’t hesitate to turn into it, placing small kisses into Tony’s palm. Tony pulled him down for a real kiss, and Steve couldn’t help but sigh into it.

Tony pulled back, but left his forehead pushed against Steve’s. “I’m still with you. Can’t get rid of me that easy. I’m like a really sexy fungus.”

Steve couldn’t help but snort. He knew Tony was just saying these things to lighten the mood, but despite knowing, it still managed to work every time.

A small knock on the door pulled the two men apart. A stone faced Natasha walked in, followed by a very pale Clint.

_Oh yea. She just gave him hell._

From the look on Clint’s face, Steve knew that Natasha had probably just ripped him a new one. Knowing her, he might actually have to send Clint back to medical.

“Did I miss anything?” she asked.

Tony scoffed. “Not a damn thing. A few more promotions for HYDRA, but that’s it.”

Clint’s head snapped up. “It’s true then. He is HYDRA?”

“Yea. Why?”

Clint broke his eyes away from Steve, managing to get even paler. “No reason.”

Steve narrowed his eyes. There was something seriously wrong with Clint.

Natasha sighed. “Well, we’re getting nowhere. We should get back in there; see if we can pry anything else out of him.”

“I’ll do it.”

Three pairs of eyes snapped back over to Clint. “I-I mean. He hasn’t dealt with me yet. Won’t know how to read me.”

“Clint, I don’t know- ”

“And you guys shouldn’t be in here.”

“I’m sorry, what?” Tony jeered.

“Well, he’s been staring at the glass the whole time. He knows you’re in here. Just flip on the lights and leave the room. Make him uncomfortable again in the environment. He won’t know where you are; he won’t be able to have the control he thinks he has.”

Tony looked wary, but Steve slowly nodded. He had heard no complaints from Natasha either. It was worth a shot. Clint visibly relaxed before leaving the room, making his way to the other side of the glass.

\-------------------------

_This man was HYDRA._

Clint Barton walked slowly to the interrogation door, making sure his other three companions had flicked on the light on their side of the glass, so the fireman could see, and exit down the hall.

He took a deep breath before opening the door.

_This changes everything._

\-------------------------

Delmar White watched at the Avengers exited the viewing room on the other side of the two way mirror.

_What the hell are they doing?_

Delmar had given them nothing. Just the usual ‘Hail HYDRA’. Just enough to ruffle their feathers. But he had trained for this. He wouldn’t let the rest of the organization down. The Avengers would get nothing from him.

The door opened, and Delmar was faced with a new face.

_The archer._

Delmar had been presented with files on each of the Avengers, but none was more elusive than Clinton Barton. There wasn’t a lot on him, just some assassin turned SHIELD agent. Now he was running around pretending to be a super hero.

Barton looked at him, but said nothing. Instead, he walked over to the far side of the room, pulled out a gun, and shot the camera in the room.

Delmar rolled his eyes. _Ooh, scary._

Now that “no one was watching” Barton could get information out of him the other way. _What a joke._

Barton, still silent, walked behind Delmar. _Insert threatening statement here,_ he thought to himself. Which is why he was so surprised when he felt Barton take off his cuffs.

He barely had a moment to digest what was happening. “What the hell are you doing here?!” Barton hissed.

“I-I what?”

“We weren’t supposed to make a move on them for months, but yet here you are, guns blazing, ruining my _years_ of hard work to set this all up!”

Delmar stood gaping at Barton. The archer rolled his eyes before pressing a button into his hand. A familiar skull-headed octopus button sat in Delmar’s palm. _HYDRA._

Delmar was just a foot soldier; he didn’t know much. But then Washington happened. He knew that they were trying to make a move against SHIELD, but he had no idea how far up the food chain they actually were. But Captain America had prevailed. HYDRA talked of reform, talked about Plan B.

_Who knew Plan B was a fucking Avenger._

“You- ” Delmar started but was cut off with Clint.

“You need to get out of here. You need to leave. I can’t have you going around blowing my cover. Come on.”

Delmar let Barton pull him out of the interrogation room and down the long stretch of hallway.

Barton peeked around the corner, and cursed. Be spun back around to Delmar. “Put your hands behind your back. Put your head down and say nothing. _Do you understand me?”_

Delmar nodded, immediately doing as asked. Barton grasped him by an arm and started pulling him down the new stretch of building. Delmar peeked up a little to see The Black Widow talking with Falcon.

_Oh shit. They were so screwed._

But Clint just walked right on past them.

Until he heard Romanoff speak up. “Clint? Where are you going with him?”

Clint stilled. Delmar watched as he closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.

In one solid movement, he spun around and aimed his gun at Romanoff.

_“Hail HYDRA.”_

He shot two bullets into Natasha, who was caught by a stunned Wilson. Delmar could see the open betrayal on Wilson’s face, as he started to push down onto Romanoff’s wounds. “BARTON?!”

Barton moved his arm to aim at Wilson, but stopped when a shrill alarm sounded.

“ _Shit.”_

“HEY!”

Delmar startled, seeing a running Maria Hill charge towards the two. She had one of her guns out, already aiming to fire at them.

Barton grabbed at Delmar’s hand. “RUN!”

The two sprinted off down the hallway, narrowly missing the flying gun shots.

Barton led them to a fire exit, and sprinted down to the garage. Apparently Barton planned for everything because he was pulled out a pair of keys, and Delmar soon found himself in a car, racing out of headquarters.

Looking back, he could see agents scrambling around, trying to catch them, but they were no match for Barton’s speed.

They were safe, for now.


	11. Chapter 11

“Dammit. DAMMIT!” Barton slammed his hands down on to the steering wheel after making a sharp right onto the main road.

Delmar White sat next to him, still trying to catch his breath from the recent event. _What the fuck is happening?!_

He could see Barton keep peering over his shoulder, eyes wide, just waiting for the rest of the Avengers to catch up with him. Finally, he glared back at Delmar.

“Well thanks, a lot asshole. There goes my life’s work. What the hell where you doing messing with the Avengers?! This was my op!”

“Listen, man. I’m sorry! I didn’t know- ”

“Didn’t know what? That you would be caught?! You’ve fucked everything up.”

“Well how was I supposed to know that you were HYDRA!”

Barton rolled his eyes as he made another right turn. “Do you even know anything?! I’ve been in sleeper mode for years. I was supposed to make my move with the asset in Washington but Pierce pulled me out at the last second. Good thing he did too; turns out Rogers has a way of interrupting our plans,” he said with a sneer.

“Shit,” Delmar whispered. It all made sense. After Washington, Captain America had gotten rid of SHIELD. HYDRA would have needed a way to stay in control, to make sure that some of the organization lived on after the failure in Washington. That’s why Barton was never called out. He was the cockroach that SHIELD never managed to squash; always primed and ready to go at a moment’s notice.

“I knew that we were already prepping with our back up plan after Washington; I just didn’t know it was you.”

Barton scoffed. “Well I’m sorry to say that foot soldiers like you aren’t always kept in the loop. Which, speaking of, _why the hell was I not kept in the loop for this op?!_ ”

“Because it’s not an op!”

Barton nearly collided with the minivan he was passing. “ _What?!”_

“I’m not on a HYDRA op!” Delmar continued when Barton reached for his gun. “No, no, no, I am HYDRA, I promise!” Barton looked at him warily, but put his hand back on the steering wheel.

“Explain, then.”

“These people I’m running with; they’re not HYDRA. Well, I think some of us are, but not everyone. It’s a separate strike group. We’re called Brimstone.”

“Never heard of you.”

“Well you shouldn’t have. Treachery picked us all up about a year ago; this is one of the first moves we made on the Avengers.”

Barton wove through traffic wildly, speeding up to make the next light, turning right. “Treachery?”

“Yea, head of the whole operation. I know, the codename is kinda weird, just all of ours. Guy’s kind of a whack job. But the things he’s got planned, I’m convinced he’s a genius.”

Barton looked back over to Delmar. “Where do you fit in all of this?”

“Well, Treachery found me not to long after Washington. I was on leave when it happened so I never got caught up in all the mess. The foot soldiers like me were lucky; we weren’t important enough for HYDRA to ever create files on us. SHIELD never figured out who we were; we could slip into hiding easily. But Treachery managed to find me. Said he needed someone with my past experience.”

“Past experience?”

“Part of the reason it was so easy for us to bomb Stark Industries was because I used to work there.”

Barton snorted. “How the hell did you pass Stark’s interviews? You know he does fifty billion background checks on everyone. You wouldn’t have made it past hacking skills; he would have found you out in a minute flat.”

Delmar shook his head. “No, I’m talking a long time ago. Like _Obadiah Stane_ long time ago. Stark didn’t give shit about his company. I helped Stane set up his back deals in the Middle East; I was just another soldier, I blended in easily.”

Barton slammed on the brakes when they came to a red light. “Stane was HYDRA?”

“No, he never knew. HYDRA just gave me tips to give to Stane on potential buyers, some of which were HYDRA. And of course, I got him in contact with the Ten Rings. When HYDRA found out that Stane wanted to kill Stark, we decided to help. We’d get rid of an enemy, and SHIELD would never know we we’re involved. And, it had the added benefit of Stane making weapons for HYDRA without him even knowing about it.”

Barton nodded. “Makes sense.”

“Yea, so when Treachery needed me to get Nick into Stark Industries, it was a breeze.”

“Nick?”

“Limbo. Atheist who is basically just a delusional pyro. He’s been moonlighting as the mailman for a few months. I told him where’s Starks office was, and then, well you know what happened.”

“Where is he now?”

“I was supposed to meet him at the safe house after I got rid of Iron Man and Captain America.”

Barton took a deep breath. “Ok. We’ll go there now. But we’ll have to move fast; knowing my luck, Rogers will be breathing down our necks within a few hours.”

“Ok, ok, you’re right. We need to go back to the main city. There’s a small apartment on Fifth and Delancey.”

Barton changed lanes and made another right turn. “Anything else I need to know about?”

“We just need to get out of here. Treachery doesn’t tell us everything; just tells us our specific jobs, and once we’re done, we have to report back to him with the next one. It’s just- this job can’t go wrong. The Avengers already took out one of us last month. We can’t afford another failure, especially when we have them so flustered now. But now we have you; we have the upper hand.”

Barton glared at him. “That’s it.”

“What do you mean, that’s it?”

“You don’t know anything else.”

“No, man! Treachery just said that things will come together like they should. We each know what we need to; we can’t risk giving information into the wrong hands.”

Barton sighed. “What a letdown.”

Delmar furrowed his brow. “What?”

Barton pulled the car to a stop. “Nothing, I just thought you’d be more interesting. Always a foot soldier, I guess.”

Delmar finally took in their surroundings.

They were back at the Avengers base.

Barton had only made right turns.

Delmar was about to grab the gun when his door was pried open, and he was manhandled out of the car by Captain America himself.

“Anything?”

Barton strolled out from the other side of the car. “Oh yea. Kid squealed like a pig,” he chuckled.

“They always do,” came a new voice.

Delmar looked away from Rogers to see Black Widow walking over. She smiled icily at him, giving a small wave. 

“Wha- what’s happening?! I saw you get shot!”

Romanoff chuckled. “What happened is that you just finished an interrogation with Clint Barton. Congratulations.”

Delmar felt agents grab each of his arms, pulling him back into the building. “Barton?!”

Barton walked back up to him, clapping a hand on his shoulder. “Hail HYDRA, right buddy? Of course, my HYDRA stands for ‘Hope Your Day’s Ruined, Asshole.’ So thanks for the little chat. But you should know. With the stuff you told me? Your day is only going to get worse.” Barton gave him one last wink before agents were pulling Delmar to his new cell.

\-------------------------

_Natasha grabbed Clint from the cot he was sitting on in medical and threw him against the wall._

_“Where the hell were you?!”_

_“Nat, please, just- ”_

_“Don’t you Nat me. Do you have any idea what you’ve put everyone through?!” Clint avoided her eyes, looking down at the floor. “We’ve been looking all over for you! Laura is in pieces; Steve has been an absolute wreck. Don’t even get me started on Tony!”_

_“Well I didn’t know- ”_

_“What, you didn’t know that your family would care if you just disappeared off the face of the planet?!”_

_“I DIDN’T KNOW HE WAS ALIVE!”_

_Nat stepped away from him, shocked. “Tony?” she asked in a quiet voice._

_Clint nodded, wiping a stray tear from his face. “I thought he was dead. I saw him, in the warehouse. I saw what Thorpe did to him. I had one job: to kill him. To get Steve and Tony to safety. But I didn’t kill him in time. And I saw Tony on the floor… And Steve was screaming, and I-I just… I thought I killed him.”_

_Natasha pulled his chin up gently, forcing him to meet her eyes. “You ran.” Clint looked up to see understanding in her eyes. That’s why Clint and Nat were such good friends. They could relate to each other on anything. She knew he would do anything to redeem himself; she would do the same._

_Clint gave a small nod. “I thought I killed Tony. I knew what he meant to Steve, I knew it would kill him as well. I couldn’t deal with blood on my hands again. I found information on the Operation and I went ghost. I thought maybe if I avenged Tony, then I could get some peace. I didn’t want them to hurt my family again. But then this happened. I was wrong.”_

_Natasha gave a soft chuckle. “Well, you’re an idiot; you’re wrong about a lot of things.”_

_She pulled him into a hug. “I’m still mad at you.”_

_Clint laughed into her shoulder. “I know.”_

_“I’m just deciding to go easy on you conserving the ass whumping you’re about to receive from Captain America.”_

_Clint groaned. That talk might actually kill him. “Shouldn’t we deal with this first?”_

_Natasha pulled away, shrugging. “The guy would say anything. Typical HYDRA thug. He’s not giving us anything.”_

_Clint grinned at her. “You thinking what I’m thinking?”_

_“I’ll grab the blood packs.”_

_“I’ll grab the blanks.”_

\-------------------------

_“I’m sorry, what’s happening?”_

_Tony watched as Sam helped Natasha tape blood packs to her stomach._

_“Clint’s interrogating our guy. We should know everything in about fifteen minutes,” Natasha said, pulling her shirt back down. “You get in touch with Hill?” she asked, looking to Sam._

_He nodded. “Yep. Everyone’s in position.”_

_“What do we do?” Steve questioned, his brow furrowed._

_“Nothing. Just stay out of the way; sit back and enjoy the show.”_

_A very puzzled Tony Stark and Steve Rogers watched as Natasha and Sam left the room. It wasn’t too much long later when the hall was filled with shots. Tony had to grab Steve’s arm to ensure the Captain didn’t leap into the middle of the action._

_“It’s not real; relax.”_

_Steve nodded, and sat back down next to Tony. They observed Clint Barton run down the hall with their detainee, Hill not that far behind them._

_It wasn’t moments after they were gone when Natasha came back into the room, shirt bloodied from the packs._

_“Come on,” she said. “Time for act two.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oops. Fooled you.
> 
> :)


	12. Chapter 12

Steve watched Tony from down the hallway, the engineer babbling quickly on the phone. The hand not attached to his cell was gesturing wildly, coupling well with the bright animations flashing across Tony’s face.

Steve couldn’t help but smile. With everything that he’d lost, just seeing Tony doing something as mundane as talking on the phone was enough to remind Steve of all that he still had. Steve chuckled as Tony groaned, throwing his free hand up to the ceiling.

_He must be talking with Pepper._

Steve always thought it was amusing how the fiery red head could always wrangle his lover into doing anything with a simple glare. Steve would count himself lucky if he managed to get Tony to eat a sandwich. _I need to learn how to do that._

Tony ended his call and sauntered back over to Steve, not stopping until his face was pushed into Steve’s firm chest. Steve immediately brought his arms around the smaller man, bending down to breathe in Tony’s scent.

“Everything ok?”

“Yea. Pepper’s handling everything back at SI. I also had Happy look into the remaining firemen still hanging around. Everyone else checks out. They’re safe.”

Steve nodded, bringing a hand up to trail through Tony’s dark locks. He could still feel leftover plaster from the past explosions. Steve couldn’t help but tighten his hold on Tony.

“Everything ok with you?”

“Yea,” Steve whispered, pressing a kiss to Tony’s forehead. “It’s just- I… I,” _almost lost you. Again._

Steve tried to pull away, but let Tony drag him back down for a real kiss. “Stop it. I can hear the gears grinding in your head. You’re gonna hurt yourself,” Tony chuckled.

“I can’t help it. With everything that’s happened, I think I have a right to be a little worried,” Steve sighed.

“Hey.” Tony forced Steve to meet his eyes. “This is just another job. We’re Avengers. We’ll get it done.” He pressed another chaste kiss to Steve’s lips.

“Are you guys done?” Steve spun around to be met with Sam Wilson’s smirk.

“Yes.”

“No.”

Steve narrowed his eyes at Tony, trying and failing miserably to not blush as Tony dragged his tongue across his bottom lip.

“What’s the situation?”

“Fury just got here. He wants all of you to meet with him,” replied Sam.

“All of you? Why do you get out of meeting with Nicky?” Tony retorted.

Sam didn’t respond; he just looked over at Steve.

“Uh, Tony, why don’t you head to the meeting. I’ll catch up.” Steve gave Tony’s hand one last squeeze, before ushering him to the door. Tony gave a quizzical look, but let himself he pushed out. Steve sighed as he closed the door.

“You haven’t told him.”

Steve pinched his nose with his fingers. “No.”

“Steve.”

“I know! It’s just…I can’t tell him. Not now. With everything happening, I’m sure Tony wouldn’t like the added knowledge that I’m looking for Bucky behind his back.”

“You know, Stark’s resources could probably- ”

“No. I don’t want him involved in this.”

“Steve- ”

“Please! I can’t deal with that on top of all of this. Tony getting involved in all of this could get him into trouble. I mean, I can barely protect him now! I just- I can’t lose him. Not now.”

Sam put a hand on his shoulder. “Ok. I’ll keep this under the table for now. But Steve, the longer you keep this from Tony, the worse it will be when he finds out.”

“I know, Sam. But you know Tony. He’s so… fragile. I don’t want to keep secrets from him, but I don’t know how he’ll react to all of this. I mean, we just found each other. He’s had a hard life. I can’t be another disappointment to him. I’ll just have to deal with this later.”

Sam nodded. “Well, Nat’s informants gave me another tip.”

“Will you- ”

“Yes, of course. I’m heading there now.”

“Thank you, Sam. It means a lot.”

“Yea, yea. But we’re not done talking about this.”

Steve watched as Sam walked back out. He pushed his face into his hands.

_What am I going to do?_

\-------------------------

Clint heard Tony enter the briefing room, but his eyes never left Fury.

His old boss had entered just a few minutes earlier, and ever since then, he and Clint had been having a staring contest.

Clint could never read Fury, but now he could tell that the man was not happy about his little vacation. But he would deal with that later.

Clint finally broke eye contact when Steve walked in, taking a seat next to Tony. Steve nodded to Fury before looking back up at Clint. “What do you got?”

Clint sighed before throwing a file onto the table. “After… the warehouse, I came across this. The Suit. His name was Finnegan Thorpe. He was part of this organization called Brimstone. Our new friend downstairs is part of it too.”

“Who are they?” Steve asked, flipping through the file.

“Military probably. Whenever I went dealt with the army in the Middle East, most of my weapon shipments were to operations like this,” replied Tony, leaning over Steve’s shoulder.

Natasha shook her head. “I’ve never heard of them. Special ops?”

“No. They’re just people. Just regular, ordinary people.”

Tony snorted. “Figures. We take down worldly powers every month but leave it to the Average Joe’s to take us down.”

“Tony, don’t joke. If you remember, they almost did take us down last month. Did you run the names?”

Clint nodded. “Yea, nothing. It’s like they don’t exist.”

“But somehow they were able to just waltz into both here and SI like they owned the place. Who knows what else they’re capable of,” sighed Natasha.

“What about the guy downstairs?”

“Delmar didn’t give us much. All I got from him is that the man who delivered the bombs to SI should be at this address.”

“That’s it?” asked Steve.

“Yea, kid was almost useless. But hopefully his buddy at the safe house will have some more answers.”

“Alright. Let’s take care of this then,” Everyone in the room startled when Fury finally spoke. “Rogers, lead a team there.”

“Uh, actually, let Stark lead the team. There might be more explosives there that we might need to defuse,” retorted Clint.

Fury gave him a stony eye, but nodded. “Alright Stark, you’re up. Take Romanoff and Rhodes with you. Get it done. And you,” he pointed back to Clint as he walked out the door. “You and I are going to talk.”

“Of course, sir.”

Clint watched Natasha leave to find Rhodes, and Steve place a lasting kiss to Tony’s lips before the genius followed out the door as well.

“Steve, wait.”

“Clint, I know I said what we needed to talk, but I need to go find this guy. I’m not gonna leave Tony to- ”

“Steve, shut up.”

Steve startled. “I’m sorry?”

“I may have not told you everything.”

“Uh, yea, Clint. I don’t know if you remember that you’ve been gone for a month,” Steve snapped.

“No, not that. It’s Delmar.”

“What about him?”

“He- he told me something else. About Tony.”

Steve stilled. _“What about Tony.”_

Clint looked away, rubbing hand through his hair. “I don’t know how to tell you. I asked Delmar how he got they managed to get the bombs into SI, and well, he used to work there.”

“Ok, makes sense. He would know the layout of the building.”

“Steve you’re not listening! He was an employee. When Stane was still around.”

Steve’s heart stopped. Tony never talked about Stane and Steve never asked. Steve had a general understanding of what happened in Afghanistan, but it wasn’t until late into their friendship that Tony had come in and thrust the file into Steve’s hands.

_“What is this?”_

_“It’s what happened. To me. I know you’re curious.”_

_Steve looked back up at Tony. “What’s to say I don’t already know?”_

_Tony gave Steve a small smile. “I know you haven’t read any of ours. You told us once that it wasn’t your right. I forgot you’re so sappy like that.”_

_Steve rolled his eyes at Tony. “You sure?” he asked gently._

_Tony nodded, before walking back to the door. “I trust you. You deserve to know.”_

Steve had lost count the number of times he read over that file. He just remembers ending up in Tony’s arms just holding him and refusing to let go. There was a very short list of people Steve thought he could actually kill, and if he was still alive, Stane would have met the wrong side of Steve’s shield.

“He worked with Stane?”

“Yes. But there’s more. He said he helped Stane deal under the table. And that he contacted the Ten Rings.”

_“What.”_

Clint put a hand on Steve’s shoulder. “Listen, Steve. I’m telling you that downstairs is part of the reason that Tony had to survive on the arc reactor, the reason he was tortured for months, the reason that he can’t even look at a pool. I’m also telling you that Fury and Hill will be dealing with the team, and that strangely enough, all of the security for the cells downstairs is off.”

Steve didn’t even wait for further reason. He tore out of the briefing room and down the stairs.

_Time to avenge what’s mine._


	13. Chapter 13

“How are we gonna go about this?”

Natasha, Tony, and Rhodey stood in the back alleyway of the supposed hide out for the bomber, Nickolas Beattie. The three had opted to take a car to the site, thinking that taking a quinjet would be asking for a little too much attention.

“Potentially, there is a delusional pyro on the second floor who has already detonated three bombs today. Who knows what else he’s cooking up in there,” Rhodey sighed.

“Well, I guess we better not give him any time to finish then,” replied Natasha, glancing over at Tony.

“Now you’re talking.” Tony snapped his faceplate shut, blasting off the ground and crashing through the second floor window.

“What the hell?!”

Natasha glanced at Rhodey. “The man’s a bomber. I’m not gonna give him time to prepare himself if we went through the front door and up the steps.”

“What if he got trigger happy?!”

“Relax. These apartments have been abandoned for years. No one’s around but us. Hence the fact that he would hear us if we just waltzed right in. Besides, I’ve seen Stark get swallowed by an alien, I think he can handle a bomb.”

Rhodey made a move to protest, but was cut off by a voice from above. “Are you ladies done fighting?”

Glancing up, the two could see Tony peering back through the window he had broken. “It’s all clear up here if you ever feel like joining the party.”

Rhodey rolled his eyes before dutifully following Natasha through the back door and up the stairs.

“Using the stairs? Lame,” Tony said as the pair finally reached the apartment.

“Beattie?” Natasha asked.

“No sign of him or any of his little concoctions,” replied Tony.

“Well he was here at some point; this meal looks fresh.”

“Alright, spread out. Let’s find something useful,” Natasha said, already walking to the back hallway.

“You got it, Daphne,” winked Tony.

He scanned the room, deciding where to start.

The apartment wasn’t much, more like a loft. Since the building had been abandoned for a few years, all of the furniture was cleaned out except for a some chairs and a small table littered with whatever food Nick Beattie shoved down his throat before fleeing.

“FRIDAY?”

“Sorry, boss. I can’t detect any tech.”

Tony sighed, turning when he heard Natasha walk back into the main foyer.

“There’s nothing back there. Beattie couldn’t have been here more than an hour. Once Delmar didn’t show up he probably got cold feet and ran.”

Fury was not going to be happy.

“That’s a lot of food, don’t you think?” asked Rhodey.

“Well the guy had a busy morning. Three bombs before lunch probably works up a huge appetite,” quipped Tony.

Rhodey huffed. “Then why are there two drinks?”

The trio looked over to the rickety table and sure enough, two soda cans sat on the dusty surface.

“There was someone else here,” murmured Natasha.

“Could be another member of Brimstone. There is probably CCTV footage from outside; maybe we can catch the two of them.”

“Already on it,” replied Tony.

“We should head back. If we can convince Delmar that we have Beattie as well, maybe he’ll talk some more.”

\-------------------------

Clint stepped back into Fury’s office.

“That was Tasha. Beattie wasn’t there but they think he was there with someone else at some point. Stark’s already looking into video footage from outside, so maybe we’ll catch a break.”

 Fury nodded, hand rubbing idly at his bald scalp. “You’ve got anything else?”

Clint shook his head, resting his arms on the back of a chair. “I followed half-assed leads for week. I could probably find more information about you than these people. Someone went through a lot of trouble to make sure it looked like they never existed. And now that HYDRA’s involved? It can’t be good. I mean, they _knew_ things. In the warehouse, Thorpe knew that Tony created Ultron. We never released that information, it was all under wraps. And now they somehow managed to break into our own base right through the front door? This is gonna go south very fast. And we can’t even prepare for it because we don’t _know_ anything.”

“We’ve worked with less.”

Clint sighed. “I should go. I may have let Steve do something less humane.”

Clint walked towards the door, stopping when be heard Fury call back to him. “Oh, and Barton? The next time you even think about taking an unplanned vacation- ”

“You’ll shove your fist so far up my ass that every time I open my mouth in front of a mirror, I’ll see you giving me the finger. Yea, I’m aware, sir. It won’t happen again.”

“I’m glad we reached an understanding.”

Clint shut the office door and walked down the back stairs towards the holding cells. He almost didn’t want to find what was down there. They had put Delmar back in the interrogation room handcuffed to the chair, but God only knew where he ended up after Steve was done with him.

Clint burst through the observation room, sighing in relief when he saw Delmar still handcuffed to his chair on the other side of the glass. His relief was short lived, however, when he saw the state Delmar was in.

His face, if you could still call it that, was swollen like a grape, covered with little rivulets of blood than slid down from his temple. From the short gasps he was taking, Clint figured Delmar had at least a few cracked, hell, even bruised ribs. And were those? Yep, those were broken fingers. Clint didn’t even want to know how many other broken bones that littered the man’s body. Thank God he was unconscious.

Taking a beating like that from anyone would have been horrible, but being on the receiving end of the avenging super soldier? Delmar probably would have had better luck standing in front of a train.

Clint picked up his phone and dialed Hill. “Send a med team down to the interrogation room. Our guest slipped and fell.”

Clint hung up, leaving the room in search of Steve.

Clint had learned early on that the Captain didn’t have a fight or flight response. No, Steve had the fight _and then_ flight response. Steve would never back down from a fight, whether it be against the fiercest of villains, or arguing with Tony over sleep habits. He would always give it his all; Steve never half-assed anything. But, not many people know that afterwards Steve was prone to fleeing into a sulk. A lot of the times it was over civilian casualties, team injuries, sometimes his own behavior. Even with all his strength, even Captain America can’t hold the weight of the world on his shoulders.

_Tony is going to kill me._

Well, Tony was going to kill him anyway. Clint had accepted the fact that he was already on everyone’s shit list, and probably will be for all eternity. He hadn’t even called Laura yet. That was one conversation that he was not looking forward too.

Clint searched through the remaining holding cells until he stumbled upon Steve Rogers curled into the far wall in the last room. Clint could already pick up on his shaking, his dull blue eyes staring at his bloodied hands.

_Shit._

“Steve? Steve, buddy, you with me?”

Clint didn’t get a response, but then again, he hadn’t expected one. Clint had only seen him like this a few times. Being the leader of a superhero team would take its toll on anyone, but Steve always managed to put on a strong face for the team. Not that he needed too; any member of the Avengers would follow that man anywhere. But of course, contrary to popular belief, Captain America is not perfect.

He’s still a soldier. He has PTSD. He has mind numbing nightmares that terrorize his mind at night. Sometimes he gets too caught up in the new century and gets overwhelmed, the futuristic time nothing but a crushing weight on his chest. And then there was that time that he thought he had lost Tony forever.

During those times, Clint had seen ‘the Captain’ disappear behind Steve Rogers, leaving nothing but a lost kid from Brooklyn, nothing but a broken shell of a man.

He would just have to get someone just as broken.

Clint flew back up the stairs and breathed in relief when he saw the rest of his team in the briefing room. Not even caring for formalities, he burst in and grabbed Tony, pulling him back to the stairwell.

“What the hell, Clint?”

“No time to explain, but I think I broke your boyfriend.”

“You what?!” Clint pulled Tony down the stairs, back to where Steve was. Not, of course, before passing Delmar’s cell. “Is that a medical team? What the hell did you do?”

“Not me, per se.”

Tony screeched to a halt, grabbing Clint by the front of his vest, slamming him into the nearest wall. “You didn’t.”

“I did. I may have mentioned that Delmar worked for Stane.”

Tony huffed. “You are just one bad decision after another, aren’t you?”

“I know; I’m trying to work on it.”

“I’m going to kill you.”

“I know.”

“Literally, I am going to end your life.”

“Looking forward to it.”

Tony pushed away from Clint, looking down the hall. “Where is he?”

“Last one on the left.”

Tony sped past to the last door, but opened the door softly, trying not to scare Steve.

“Steve, you in here?”

_Good God._

When Tony finally got a good look at Steve, he almost stumbled back in surprise. His hands were covered in blood, chest heaving, and tears were leaving hot trails down his cheeks.

“Oh, sweetheart.”

Tony walked over and reached his hands out slowly, softly grabbing at Steve’s hands. Steve let him, of course, but remained silent expect for the wet gasps that left his throat.

Tony brought Steve’s hands to his chest, wiping as much blood as he could on the underside of his shirt before gathering Steve into his arms. Steve all but collapsed into him, his face jamming into Tony’s neck as his sobs started up again.

Tony wrapped his arms around Steve tightly, pressing light kisses into his hair and down the side of his face. They stayed there forever, Tony just rocking Steve gently, whispering sweet nothings into his ear.

Tony felt a tear of his own slip down his cheek when Steve finally did speak.

“When did I become the bully?”


End file.
